Harvick, Busch cruise to Duel victories at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch closed the book on the nerve-wracking Daytona 500 qualifying process by winning the Budweiser Duel on Thursday.The 65,000 spectators didn't know it, but they were part of history. Beginning in 2014, these qualifiers will be run under the lights at Daytona International Speedway, eradicating the long tradition of “racing flu” — fans calling in sick to attend the daytime Duel.When the two 60-lap qualifying races were done Thursday, the 500 field was established, with the front row remaining intact for Sunday's green flag.Daytona 500 pole winner Danica Patrick finished 17th without incident in the first Duel, while Jeff Gordon, who led the most laps in Duel 2, wound up 12th because of a pit-road penalty. Gordon led 38 laps before speeding onto pit road.Now the attention shifts to Harvick, who has posted two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories since stock-car Speedweeks — and the “Generation 6” era — began last Friday.The driver of No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet dominated the Sprint Unlimited, then led the last 19 laps to win the first Duel. Both times he had Greg Biffle's No. 16 Ford in tow.“It's been a great start to Speedweeks,” said Harvick, who will leave Childress at the end of 2013 and join Patrick at Stewart-Haas Racing. “My guys have done such a great job.”Harvick's victory earned him the No. 3 starting position for Sunday's 500. He will be positioned directly behind Patrick's No. 10 Chevy.“What I need to do is go to Harvick's bus and see what he's doing (to go fast),” Patrick said in jest.“We've been fortunate to win the first two races of Speedweeks,” Harvick said. “We just got to keep a level head on our shoulders and not get too high over what we've done.”Gordon appeared headed to victory in Duel 2, but NASCAR flagged him for excessive speed entering pit road during a round of green-flag service stops. He drew a drive-through penalty and was not a factor at the finish.Busch took advantage of the blunder by roaring to the lead on Lap 53 and easily keeping second-place Kasey Kahne at bay over the final lap. Since there were no cautions in the second race, Busch averaged a near-record 193.966 mph. (Biffle had a speed of 194.175 mph in winning the second Duel last year.)“This is a huge confidence boost for our team,” Busch said. “We have set the momentum in the right direction at the start of the season. (Thursday) was just one of those days where you had to be really patient, kind of let things play out a little bit, see how things were going to go.”With Gordon out of his windshield, Busch made short work of Clint Bowyer, who led Lap 52 before fading to fourth at the checkered flag. Kahne was followed across the line by Austin Dillon, one of Childress' grandsons.Dillon — who says he hopes to someday revive the No. 3 used by the late Dale Earnhardt in the Cup Series — will start eighth Sunday.Another big surprise was Juan Pablo Montoya's performance in the first qualifier. He was lined up 13th on a Lap 57 restart and finished third behind Biffle.There was only one caution in the combined 120 laps of racing. Late in Race 1, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards made contact exiting Turn 2, collecting 2011 Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne and Regan Smith, wheeling the No. 51 Chevy.Edwards — who has been in four wrecks here between Speedweeks and January testing — and Bayne will go to backup cars for the 500.“That's something you don't want to do,” Bayne said.

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